Red-Headed Stepchild

Crouched beside me, Adam let go of my hand to peek between two barrels. “The second explosion came from near the clinic. Looks like Vinca’s trying to create a diversion.”



“Oh, shit.” I started to move, but Adam grabbed the back of my shirt.



“Let’s see how this plays out.”



“She can’t defeat them on her own,” I said. “We have to help her.”



“What are you going to do, chase them with that stick?”



I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to still the staccato beats of my heart. When I opened them I said, “It’s a hell of a lot better than hiding.”



Adam’s color had returned and the gash on his forehead was now just a pale, thin line. His jaw was clenched as he weighed the situation. “Okay. Look, if we’re going in then you’re going to have to be prepared to use your magic.” He held up his wrists. “With these brass cuffs on my wrists, I’m not going to be much use magically.”



“Right,” I said. “I’d be better off just calling them mean names.”



“Sabina, look at me,” he said. “You can do this. You already have the innate power—you just need to focus it.”



From the sound of things, the fight seemed to be moving toward the entrance of the clinic. All I could think about was that the faeries, including Vinca, were caught in the middle of an all-out vampire brawl. Faeries were decent fighters, but vampires were ten times stronger and faster. They wouldn’t last long without help.



“Fine, whatever. Let’s get in there.” I didn’t wait for Adam to respond, just took off in the direction of the fight. He cursed and then his footfalls pounded behind me.



Finally able to see the fighting, I realized a complete melee had broken out between the Dominae’s forces, Clovis’s people, and the faeries. Everyone was fighting, well, everyone in an all-out brawl.



I zeroed in on a group of Dominae vamps surrounding Vinca and the faeries. Darius had pushed Vinca behind him, but I had little hope he could protect her from the vampires. Clovis stood off to the side looking bored as he fought the Dominae’s elite guard. I couldn’t wait to do battle with that prick, but first I had to save my friend.



I ran straight into the fray, swinging the stick at the nearest vamp. Wood made contact with skull and the guy went down. It didn’t kill him, but I moved on. My only thought was to clear a path to Vinca. I felt heat at my back and turned to see the vamp I’d taken down explode in a puff of smoke. Adam stood over him with a bloody axe he hadn’t had a few second earlier. Looked like even without his magic, he was still pretty resourceful.



I reached down and grabbed the knife out of my boot. Clovis’s henchman, the one who’d taken my gun earlier, came at me, pointing the muzzle at my head. I ducked and swiped the broomstick under his legs. A shot went wild, bouncing off the ceiling rafters as he fell. I straddled him across the chest. With a swift motion, I rammed the knife into his chest. His body exploded when the apple wood shaft hit him. I landed on my ass a couple of feet away.



I stood and saw Adam grappling with another vamp, one of Clovis’s guards. Passing them, I ran toward Vinca, who was trying to fend off Frank. As I watched, the bastard grabbed her from behind and sank his fangs into her neck. I screamed and lunged at them. But I was too late. He ripped her jugular out just as he stabbed her in the chest.



I went totally primal. A red haze filled my vision. One second I watched Vinca fall, and the next I attacked Frank like a hellbeast. Frank’s hands came up as I clawed him and went straight for his neck with my fangs. He fell back from my weight, dislodging my hold on his neck.



We rolled, punching and kicking each other. As far as fights went it wasn’t my most graceful, but I was beyond caring about technique. I wanted his blood covering the floor before I killed him.



I grabbed Frank’s head, ripping hair out by the roots. He slashed my face, clawing for my eyes. Somehow, I managed to flip him over. Grabbing him around the throat in a choke hold, I made him stand. He tried to twist out of the hold. I punched him in the kidneys and dragged him backward toward the gun lying on the ground. In a swift move, I reached down to scoop the gun. Spinning quickly before he could strike, I aimed it at his face. He stopped in midlunge with his hand outspread for attack.



Air stung my lungs as I heaved in great gulps of oxygen. I pulled back the hammer. “Who’s changing the plan now, asshole?”



Frank opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of hands clapping interrupted. Keeping the gun pointed at him, I turned my head. My heart dipped low in my chest when I saw Clovis doing an ironic golf clap to my left. A quick scan of the area revealed the other faeries’ lifeless bodies. The only other vamp had a gun pointed at Adam’s temple.



“Impressive performance,” Clovis mocked. “However, playtime is over. Please drop your weapon.”



“Him first,” I said, nodding at the vamp next to Adam.



Clovis laughed. “Your audacity knows no bounds.”



“I’ll kill him,” I said, ramming the gun into Frank’s temple.



“Be my guest.”



I looked at Frank, whose face fell at his leader’s betrayal. “If he’s so easily beaten by a female, he deserves to die,” Clovis said.



It happened fast. I swung the gun at Clovis and pulled the trigger. At the same time, Adam elbowed the other vamp in the face. I fell into a roll, grabbing the knife from the pile of ashes left over from the male I’d smoked earlier. Coming up, I turned, expecting to fight Frank. He merely stood there, his mouth agape.



I sensed movement at my back and swung around. Clovis tackled me, forcing the knife from my hand. It skittered toward Adam, who used it to take out the vamp he’d elbowed. Heat hit my face as I fell from Clovis’s blow. Looming over me, the half-demon’s face had changed. No longer did he look like a fallen angel. Now he looked every inch the demon that took up half his DNA. Two black horns protruded from his forehead and his face elongated into a hideous mask resembling bony red leather with black lips.



“Silly girl, you think a bullet can stop me?” His breath felt like fire and his voice had deepened several octaves. He lifted a hand casually and a ray of black light shot from his fingertips. Frank started to scream. I watched in shock as his skin melted from his bones and his body went up in flames.



Clovis grabbed me before I could recover from the sight of Frank’s agony. I struggled against him, trying to free my hands. He lifted me easily, as if I were a child. My feet dangled in midair as I gasped and sputtered. With his free hand, Clovis picked up Adam, who’d been sneaking up behind him. As motes danced in my vision, I saw Adam fly backwards into a stack of crates.



“Finally, all alone,” Clovis said. He shook me and my body flopped in the air like a rag doll. “Let’s dance.”



Before I knew what was coming, he lifted his hand again. A white-hot bolt of energy slammed into me. My back hit something hard and I crumpled into the concrete floor with a thud. Every bone in my body felt cracked as I gasped for breath. Before I could gather myself to move, he came at me again. His long, scaly fingers clawed my hair. My scalp burned as his face came into view again. His eyes blazed with the fires of Irkalla.



“Not so mouthy now, are you?” He backhanded me. My head fell back as pain radiated across my face. He dropped me and I hit the floor like a stone.



My eyes cracked open. Clovis’s cloven hoof stood next to my face. Just beyond it, I saw a flash of movement.



From the shadows, my grandmother walked into the open area. I should have been surprised to see her, but if I knew my grandmother, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to rub my nose in the mess I’d created.



Clovis laughed, lifted me by my hair off the floor. I dangled in his grip, my will to fight gone. Even if I managed to defeat Clovis by some miracle, I doubted I could best my grandmother.



“Lavinia Kane,” Clovis said with a sneer. “Stop where you are or I’ll finish her.”



Lavinia didn’t so much as flinch. “Don’t let me stop you. She deserves to die for her treachery.” She speared me with a venomous look. “Surely you didn’t think you could outsmart me, girl. I knew you’d go in early. I came along with my forces to make sure the job got done properly. As usual, it appears I must do the job of killing the Dominae’s enemies myself.”



Clearly, she included me in that group. That was fine with me; she’d become my enemy when I found out she’d been lying to me my whole life. As for the killing part, she’d have to wait until Clovis had his turn.



Disappointed he couldn’t use me as leverage, Clovis tossed me to the ground. I barely felt the impact of the cold concrete. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them delivered a deathblow. Every part of my body ached, along with my spirit. I was tired of fighting. Tired of pain. Tired of struggling to make sense of the quagmire my life had become. Perhaps death would finally bring me some peace.



I was about to close my eyes when Adam’s head appeared above the pile of boxes where he’d landed earlier. The sight of him—his face battered but determined—warmed me. He mouthed something. I blinked through the tears I hadn’t noticed, trying to decipher his meaning. He repeated it and this time I recognized the word his mouth formed: “Fight.”



Behind me, Clovis and my grandmother were squaring off. Shouts and grunts accompanied the occasional blast of heat and sound of fist meeting flesh. I realized then it didn’t matter who won their battle. If Adam and I were going to make it out of this alive, they’d both have to be dealt with. The numb acceptance of impending death was replaced by grim resolve.



Adam was still watching me, but now he moved, ducking low as he came clear of the boxes.



He couldn’t take both of them on his own, and I knew I had to do something. Without a fully formed plan, I started clawing at the floor to drag myself along. I figured if nothing else the blood oozing from the gash on my neck would create a pretty strong circle to bind one of them, if not both. Behind me, Clovis and my grandmother were so caught up trying to kill each other, they didn’t notice me. Grandmother’s age lent her strength and speed as she attacked with fangs and fists, but Clovis held his own with zaps of demon magic combined with his own punches and kicks.